All 16 centromere DNAs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae show DNA curvature

All 16 centromere DNA regions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae including 90 bp f raming sequences on either side were cloned, These 300 bp long centromere r egions were analysed by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and found to display a reduced mobility indicative of DNA curvature, The degree of c urvature is centromere dependent. The experimental data were confirmed by c omputer analysis of the 3-dimensional structure of the CEN DNAs, Altogether these data provide further evidence for a model for budding yeast centrome res in which CEN DNA structure could be important for the assembly, activit y and/or regulation of the centromere protein-DNA complex.